Agree with you. BTW thanks for sharing the interview, I learned many new things from it - for example that Lost! was the first and 42 the last song to be written for it, and the beginnings of the song VLV !

 

ooh! the viva interviews were the best..they were always talking about getting better not bigger in almost every interview. there was an interview/ talk where they talk about the album track by track. You will also find it very informative

 

I'd say uncertainty, concern and nerves in the artistic world will always push you on. I think if you stop seeing the studio as a challenge to better yourself or/and discovery as opposed to a 'musical jungle gym for all the family' then it's time to stop.

 

ouch :bigcry:

 

Record company pressure? I doubt Will or Jonny want to dress up like kids TV presenters these days and are probably pressured to do so and talk up this album.

 

It is easy to blame Chris on everything, but looking at things this era, it seems the whole band is in agreement about things. It shows on interviews.

 

They praise their "not so good" albums to high heaven, but when they make a true masterpiece all they do is talk it down!

 

No comprende

 

Exactly! It is frustrating. I loved their self-deprecating sense in all interviews. I thought it was charming that they consider themselves still learning & yearning to become better. Nowadays, their interviews full of "this is our best album/ we are very happy with it" makes me want to hit my head on the nearest wall!!

 

By the way - I know this forum is not as popular as it once was but only 10 people online at the moment? Really? I swear back when I first joined it was regular for closer to 100 or so at your average time. Indicative of Coldplay's decline?

 

Used to be an amazing community where all sorts was happening. The Lounge, World of Music and Coldplay threads would always be buzzing with activity. Maybe I'm imagining it but it's surprisingly quiet especially just two weeks after a new album release.

 

This has nothing to do with Coldplay. the world of online forums is declining generally. I think that this forum is doing a great job to survive. Nowadays, everyone resorts to social media for updates & so.

edit: also the new forum layout makes me feel alienated & a bit lost in here + the most characteristic feature which was the smilies are gone :( I am sure lots of users feel the same thing

ooh! the viva interviews were the best..they were always talking about getting better not bigger in almost every interview. there was an interview/ talk where they talk about the album track by track. You will also find it very informative

 

 

 

ouch :bigcry:

 

 

 

It is easy to blame Chris on everything, but looking at things this era, it seems the whole band is in agreement about things. It shows on interviews.

 

 

 

Exactly! It is frustrating. I loved their self-deprecating sense in all interviews. I thought it was charming that they consider themselves still learning & yearning to become better. Nowadays, their interviews full of "this is our best album/ we are very happy with it" makes me want to hit my head on the nearest wall!!

 

 

 

This has nothing to do with Coldplay. the world of online forums is declining generally. I think that this forum is doing a great job to survive. Nowadays, everyone resorts to social media for updates & so.

edit: also the new forum layout makes me feel alienated & a bit lost in here + the most characteristic feature which was the smilies are gone :( I am sure lots of users feel the same thing

 

I'm not sure. The football forums are as busy as ever and some music forums I've often dipped in and out of (Live4ever and @U2) are as strong as they've ever been. The threat of closure for this forum definitely finished off a lot of regular users here. Not a big fan of the new layout either.

With these interviews, do you get the feeling they prefer their new sound over their old sound??

With these interviews, do you get the feeling they prefer their new sound over their old sound??

Well, I don't think they looked comfortable at all or in agreement on the James Corden show.

With these interviews, do you get the feeling they prefer their new sound over their old sound??

 

They seem to like it best! They all seem very comfortable in general. I hate most of their recent interviews but objectively, I think they are enjoying what they are doing at the moment. They also seem so excited about their upcoming tour. They have chosen the songs on the new record based on how they will sound in big stadiums. It is going to be a huge tour for sure.

also the new forum layout makes me feel alienated & a bit lost in here + the most characteristic feature which was the smilies are gone :( I am sure lots of users feel the same thing

 

I noticed some very frequent users like cp3176 almost vanish after the new forum layout. It made me feel alienated too. Especially the fact that all the likes and all the great attachments were gone almost made me give up at one point too. I think it was a bad decision to update the forum layout days before AHFOD came out, I had a feeling all the excitement before (remember when we speculated about every tiny detail for pages ?) suddenly grew into an anticlimax because nobody was there when it actually came out.

 

With these interviews, do you get the feeling they prefer their new sound over their old sound??

 

I do get the feeling, yes. And it makes me sad.

there was an interview/ talk where they talk about the album track by track. You will also find it very informative

Do you happen to have a link ? :)

I think what is sorely missing from the current era that we loved so much in the early era was less emphasis on perfection. Parachutes and Rush of Blood weren't polished and shiny, but they had an almost garage feel to them. In much the same way people prefer records over MP3s. Coldplay weren't afraid to have little ambient noises trickle in and leave them, now I'm sure these songs went through 5 computers, 4 different producers and 6 different pop celebs. We crave that "I wrote a tune about not being ready when death comes, let's bang it out on these drums and this piano" we don't want the keys jangling in our face, we want a real, earnest, live sound like it's being written and performed on the fly. Honesty, I think that type of music, at least in Coldplay's case, is over. They're too big now, they have friends who are too influential.

I think what is sorely missing from the current era that we loved so much in the early era was less emphasis on perfection. Parachutes and Rush of Blood weren't polished and shiny, but they had an almost garage feel to them. In much the same way people prefer records over MP3s. Coldplay weren't afraid to have little ambient noises trickle in and leave them, now I'm sure these songs went through 5 computers, 4 different producers and 6 different pop celebs. We crave that "I wrote a tune about not being ready when death comes, let's bang it out on these drums and this piano" we don't want the keys jangling in our face, we want a real, earnest, live sound like it's being written and performed on the fly. Honesty, I think that type of music, at least in Coldplay's case, is over. They're too big now, they have friends who are too influential.

 

Agree with that. Remember the screeching of the guitar strings when you move your fingers on Parachutes and AROBTTH (and to a lesser extent X&Y) ? Coldplay used to have this unique "warm" sound that gave the songs such a genuine feeling. Now it all feels like plastic.

Agree with that. Remember the screeching of the guitar strings when you move your fingers on Parachutes and AROBTTH (and to a lesser extent X&Y) ? Coldplay used to have this unique "warm" sound that gave the songs such a genuine feeling. Now it all feels like plastic.

Perfect analogy. Warm to plastic sound. Can you imagine a song like Gold Rush being made today??

Agree with that. Remember the screeching of the guitar strings when you move your fingers on Parachutes and AROBTTH (and to a lesser extent X&Y) ? Coldplay used to have this unique "warm" sound that gave the songs such a genuine feeling. Now it all feels like plastic.

I was at a U2 concert last month and I was so close to Edge I could hear the strum of his plectrum on the strings, it was amazing. Another great thing were the fluffed notes, the fuzz of the amps etc, they had minimal background effects and it sounded amazing, just like a raw garage band. I just know that if I go to one of the Coldplay AHFOD gigs there will be so many background synths, drum machines and noise, you'll hardly be able to hear the real instruments at all. I remember being at the Twisted Logic tour and at the front and again you could hear the plectrum noise and the unmiked drums etc. I really miss those Coldplay days :-(

The crazy thing with AHFOD is its so badly mixed, a lot of the drum sounds and synths even are totally crushed, it's an incredibly bad amateur mix.

I was at a U2 concert last month and I was so close to Edge I could hear the strum of his plectrum on the strings, it was amazing. Another great thing were the fluffed notes, the fuzz of the amps etc, they had minimal background effects and it sounded amazing, just like a raw garage band. I just know that if I go to one of the Coldplay AHFOD gigs there will be so many background synths, drum machines and noise, you'll hardly be able to hear the real instruments at all. I remember being at the Twisted Logic tour and at the front and again you could hear the plectrum noise and the unmiked drums etc. I really miss those Coldplay days :-(

The crazy thing with AHFOD is its so badly mixed, a lot of the drum sounds and synths even are totally crushed, it's an incredibly bad amateur mix.

You would think they wouldn't want to make an album like that because it would be such a pain to do live. Just play instruments!!

You would think they wouldn't want to make an album like that because it would be such a pain to do live. Just play instruments!!

Yeah, lol. Just get up and play the f****** instruments!!!! All that Will fake drums etc urghh horrible.

Do you happen to have a link ? :)

 

I have it saved on my computer under the title "2008-06-20 ng magazine Promo Interview on Viva La Vida". I downloaded it from the multimedia section, but can't find the link now :( Sorry. I am just so bad when it comes to searching. maybe you can find it though.

I was at a U2 concert last month and I was so close to Edge I could hear the strum of his plectrum on the strings, it was amazing. Another great thing were the fluffed notes, the fuzz of the amps etc, they had minimal background effects and it sounded amazing, just like a raw garage band. I just know that if I go to one of the Coldplay AHFOD gigs there will be so many background synths, drum machines and noise, you'll hardly be able to hear the real instruments at all. I remember being at the Twisted Logic tour and at the front and again you could hear the plectrum noise and the unmiked drums etc. I really miss those Coldplay days :-(

The crazy thing with AHFOD is its so badly mixed, a lot of the drum sounds and synths even are totally crushed, it's an incredibly bad amateur mix.

 

That Innocence and Experience Tour looks so raw and honest. No matter how big a band can get they can still create an intimacy with fans on record or on stage. AHFOD has none of that intimacy. It's horribly artificial, everything sounds fake (is Chris Martin's voice auto tuned on HFTW?)

That Innocence and Experience Tour looks so raw and honest. No matter how big a band can get they can still create an intimacy with fans on record or on stage. AHFOD has none of that intimacy. It's horribly artificial, everything sounds fake (is Chris Martin's voice auto tuned on HFTW?)

I went to 5 I&E gigs and they were just amazing but then every U2 gig I've been to has been amazing. Such a powerful, powerful live band. Unless you've experienced them live, it's difficult to explain how good they are.

Perfect analogy. Warm to plastic sound. Can you imagine a song like Gold Rush being made today??

 

Oh man Gold Rush is probably one of my favorite songs from the Viva era just because there's so much non-musical stuff going on in the background. It sounds like all the guys just came into the studio one day in a really good mood and just went "screw it, let's have fun with this."

 

That's how you do a happy song right.

Oh man Gold Rush is probably one of my favorite songs from the Viva era just because there's so much non-musical stuff going on in the background. It sounds like all the guys just came into the studio one day in a really good mood and just went "screw it, let's have fun with this."

 

That's how you do a happy song right.

Such a happy, chirpy well produced great song. It pops along in the background. That's how to write and produce a good happy song and a million miles away from AHFOD.

Oh man Gold Rush is probably one of my favorite songs from the Viva era just because there's so much non-musical stuff going on in the background. It sounds like all the guys just came into the studio one day in a really good mood and just went "screw it, let's have fun with this."

 

That's how you do a happy song right.

 

Great song. Almost Beatles like in it's freedom and happiness. As you say that is 'fun'. Fun for the listener as well because it sounds like you're sitting in on a jamming session.

Please Coldplay back to this stuff, AHFOD is good, but not is that talented and creative Coldplay with every fan falls in love.

Oh man Gold Rush is probably one of my favorite songs from the Viva era just because there's so much non-musical stuff going on in the background. It sounds like all the guys just came into the studio one day in a really good mood and just went "screw it, let's have fun with this."

 

That's how you do a happy song right.

That song is absolutely perfect. The whole era was! Their creativity peaked during the recording process for VLV and Prospekt's March and I now have serious doubts if they can find again whatever it was that ignited the fire within. That hunger to strive to be better and not necessarily bigger was definitely a major force.

^ I agree. I know I just said Gold Rush was one of my favorites from that era, but the truth is that I can say that about at least 10-12 others. It's truly crazy how breathtaking some of those songs are. Like, who would have thought that little ole Parachutes-Coldplay would have the guts to write something like Chinese Sleep Chant? They nailed it with the balance of their "classic" sound and experimentation.

 

Team "make another album with Jon Hopkins and Brian Eno as the producers and no one else"

Please Coldplay back to this stuff, AHFOD is good, but not is that talented and creative Coldplay with every fan falls in love.

Holy crap! Yes! This!! Alllll of this! Strawberry Swing is one of the most uplifting, emotional, sweetest songs Coldplay, or anyone, has ever made. And the fact that they *willingly* did it stripped down only furthers the fact that they ARE capable of making great songs without computers and celebs and "hitmaker producers".

Team "make another album with Jon Hopkins and Brian Eno as the producers and no one else"

 

Why in the world did they ever get away from producing with them??

^ I agree. I know I just said Gold Rush was one of my favorites from that era, but the truth is that I can say that about at least 10-12 others. It's truly crazy how breathtaking some of those songs are. Like, who would have thought that little ole Parachutes-Coldplay would have the guts to write something like Chinese Sleep Chant? They nailed it with the balance of their "classic" sound and experimentation.

 

Team "make another album with Jon Hopkins and Brian Eno as the producers and no one else"

 

You almost get the idea that they don't like the idea of being challenged these days.

 

Surely they must take one look at Metacritic or dip in and out of reviews and think 'this isn't as good as we thought it was'. No credence is given to how they can further themselves critically and artistically. I get that they are quite commercially conscious so what is worse on commercial performance than creating an album that has got some pretty bad reviews? Ghost Stories tailed off pretty badly and judging by the chart performance of this latest effort it looks set to do worse.